The Financial System
1. One of the single best sources of information about financial institutions is the U.S. Flow of Funds report produced by the Federal Reserve. This document contains data on most financial intermediaries. Go to https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/Z1/. Go to the most current release. You may have to install Acrobat Reader if your computer does not already have it; the site has a link to download it for free. Go to the Level Tables and answer the following questions.
a. What percentage of assets do commercial banks hold in loans? What percentage of assets are held in mortgage loans?
b. What percentage of assets do savings and loans hold in mortgage loans?
c. What percentage of assets do credit unions hold in mortgage loans and in consumer loans?
2. The most famous financial market in the world is the New York Stock Exchange. Go to https://www.nyse.com.
a. What is the mission of the NYSE?
b. Firms must pay a fee to list their shares for sale on the NYSE. What would be the fee for a firm with five million common shares outstanding?